Issues
by Weather Marmalade
Summary: Zoe found Beverly Barlowe's Therapy Headset while cleaning out her room. How odd that it fulfills its function without being used as Zoe reminisces about her Dad, that time and others and the Issues it brought to light.


Issues

~*~Inspired by Ep2x04

~*~I find it surprising that there is so little fanfic for Eureka available. I've only been watching the show a short while so corrections are welcome. Do note that since this is from Zoe's perspective if an incident is vague it is due to the fact that as bright as she is, Zoe is not going to remember all the details, I doubt many of us would.

~*~This piece may be the first written for a series I have in mind I am vaguely calling 'Posters'. Do note that I am horrible at following up. This is also the third fic I've started this week for Eureka, but the only finished one. Not sure why this one is being posted other than the scarcity of fic, especially of the non-romantic type.

DISCLAIMER: Eureka is the initial creative property of Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia and produced by the Sci-Fi Channel, now SyFy. All rights belong to those above listed and to those to whom rights have been granted. No infringement intended.

* * *

**Issues  
**by WeatherMarmalade

Zoe stared at the device in her hands. And the printed readout.

Abandonment, Entitlement and Isolation.

She hadn't used Beverly Barlowe's Therapy headset since her dad had been trapped in it. It had almost killed her Dad why would she _use_ it. She was surprised enough to have found it stuffed under her bed.

Kind of strange really. Beverly was one of the primary factors that inspired Zoe to pursue the psychological fields. Not that she was settling on a major yet, but it was a serious contender. Somehow Zoe felt that if she pursued the same fields she could beat that woman in her own way, by just being better at it. Better in her field and better as a person.

It was just, well, there had been so many little traps that woman had laid. She'd been real subtle about everything, but Eureka's dependence on her had some really long term effects on the town. Everyone she counseled had given her information about their projects. There had been some massive fallout as the subtle ego stroking and careful blandishments she used had set up various factions in the community that were coming into play from time to time now that she wasn't present to reign them.

It had all been really hard on her dad.

Yeah, Jack Carter was a workaholic busybody. But he liked people. He liked getting along with everyone and everyone getting along, for a given value of everyone, which Zoe suspected was part of the reason her dad liked Eureka despite all the negativity that came his way. It certainly wasn't the technology that kept him around.

For example, S.A.R.A.H had once shown Zoe the search records for old fashioned typewriters her father had looked into when all the computer keyboards and data pads had ended up cross-wired. She knew Dad had learned a lot in the course of all the events that occurred during their residency, but she knew he would rather not know the 'how does it work's as much as the 'how do you stop it's with a large dose of 'what is it's and a dash of 'what is it supposed to do's.

Sometimes Zoe really couldn't believe that no one else born in this town got why she labeled a lot of her stuff with K.I.S.S. Heck, they couldn't even figure out what it stood for. They kept trying to figure out what formula it was, or thought it was something out of non-Eurekin pop culture or who knows what they thought. She was a little surprised that a few of the other 'Norms' who'd moved in to town like her hadn't explained it, but it was kind of nice to see the small smirks here and there and know they were inspired by her.

Her dad got it. Heck, he'd taught it to her as a little girl. But her gut told her that the town wouldn't understand why she used it. That the last 'S' was not meant as a reminder of her dad, because despite his actual knowledge he certainly wasn't stupid. He just had this knack for asking the right questions, could see where things didn't fit, and he could remember facts about cases from years ago. He may not get the formulas or theories she was working with, but he taught her how to figure them out anyways.

The town however, they wouldn't believe her. Through their over thought algorithms and rationalizations they would wring out 'Dumb it Down for Dad' out of the good old 'Keep It Simple, Stupid.

But looking over the printout, these test results…

Yeah she could see the abandonment and isolation issues making sense. Mom had instigated the separation, Zoe knew she herself had left for Mom when Dad had custody a time or two. There had been lost partners in the line of duty, and that one girl from the car accident from when he was in High School. So a lot of people did leave.

As for isolation, well, she knew first hand how little those in big cities truly respected the law and those who enforced it. That cops were the bad guys. She did not know burnout ratios for US Marshals but she wouldn't be surprised if it was high, and her Dad was a personable guy. He might have even turned to his work to not face the fact that co-workers weren't there anymore.

Then here in Eureka? Sure Jack did try to hide it, but Zoe heard enough to put together the bigger picture. All these mega-brains that her Dad couldn't relate to on the intelligence level. Then being stonewalled on confidential information. She knew her dad really hated mysteries, so all the not-understanding probably really got to him and made him feel alone.

She actually thought S.A.R.A.H helped quite a bit with just being there for her dad, even if the house was beyond his understanding and control.

Zoe wasn't sure about the entitlement issue however.

True her dad could be a bit of a pig, in the male chauvinist sense. She totally got where Jo was coming from when it came to handing out the tasks. Then again her father would then turn around and volunteer for some of the most insane desperate measures, so it wasn't like he pushed all the bad stuff off on Jo.

Sometimes it seemed that her Dad was saving himself for those things, keeping Jo and others out of harms way. Irritating them too much to stop him. She could hardly stand it when he went in that biosphere thingy and that hardly rated on the danger scale.

And Zoe couldn't see why her dad was_ not_ entitled to information relative to whatever was going on in town or at Global Dynamics. Real life wasn't like the problems in books. In books they always gave you just enough information to solve it. But life was never a textbook example of 'who dunnit'. How much could have been avoided if they did give her dad all the information he required?

No. Entitlement just didn't sit right with her.

She turned the headset over in her hands. She probably would need to turn this in, after all, it had enough data to recreate GD for her dad, what else might it contain? Hmm, what data did it read? Another question Zoe wouldn't put past the witch.

She couldn't remember what she finally said that day when they talked about where she would finally stay. She had just been so glad she didn't _have_ to leave. She hadn't thought much of Eureka when they first hiked in to town, but she had not even thought twice about coming here once she heard about her father's new job. She had been so afraid when Mom came, and the whole custody thing and the yelling. Deep down she was afraid that her dad didn't want her, was merely tolerating her because it was too much of a hassle to send her back home or chase her down again.

But this headset happened, and Mom had seen, well, everyone, and Mom and Dad had talked, and Dad and herself talked.

And she stayed.

So why did he let so many things go?

Her, Mom, Lexi, Allison, Callie, Tess. He let Henry push him away time and time again that second year before he actually went away to prison. Her dad only ever visited the prison trying, vainly at that, to keep Henry's spirit up, not to actually accomplish something, or persuade Henry to change his mind. There'd been something else around the time that started where she'd swear her dad was crying about things being gone, or sometimes bits of nightmares and the like.

One of the things that stood out in more recent memory was a quote he used when she was worrying about keeping her friendships with the other kids after she went away to college. The competition at Tesla School was incredibly intense that even going to Harvard, everyone, on some level, would think 'one less person to worry about'. Her position in the social hierarchy was tenuous as it was being a Norm and the Sherrif's daughter on top of her very rocky start and California Conventional attitude.

But her dad, with his admittedly mangled quote just said, "Let them go, if it's meant to be, and they're not guilty, it'll come back."

Putting that together now it seemed to make more sense. Both from his Marshal manhunt perspective, and with the abandonment issues.

Maybe too much sense.

But he pursued criminals, so why wouldn't he pursue those he loved?

Because Zoe also knew that her dad had kind of given up on that front. Like he thought no one would come back anymore.

Then again, maybe he equated that pursuit as something to be done for criminals. That had been why he'd chased after her before they came here. It would be like her dad to compartmentalize chase and capture and keep it separate from love and cherish.

But she would come back. She'd do everything in her power to ensure herself a place in Eureka on her own merits. And she thought that if Dad could balance his work back in L.A. that Mom would have definitely taken her father back.

Couldn't her dad see he was worth it after all? Couldn't he see—

Maybe he couldn't.

Zoe faced the headset like a Shakespearian skull.

It _had_ been programmed for her after all. Maybe it only had select traits to search for and diagnose.

Just how often did the inhabitant of Eureka feel inferior?

Every single student she knew in class, knew that they were smarter than the rest of the world. By a measure of Doctorates, just based off the course load they took. For everyone else …

For those who decided not to work at GD, all pursued things that fascinated them. They choose that freedom and often were incredibly specialized, too much so to be redacted by GD. And they were all very proud of their personal creations.

Those in the labs, well there were often competing projects and deadlines, but that caused rivalry and aggression rather than inferiority, save if clearance, funding, or facilities were an issue. Different methodologies were often applied and developed so that the merit evened out. There may be hurt feelings, but Zoe was pretty sure that if anyone was feeling 'inferior' they were channeled into other productive paths.

Everyone truly was worth their own lab space. The lower hierarchies of Lab Techs weren't any less brilliant. They just happened to be needed helping out instead of leading. And some would rather follow than lead anyways.

Even failures, like those drone things. She could get why it was frustrating having all his work fail time and time again but they _were_ targets. So frustration was the trouble. They upped the weapons, he upped his specs, he was kept behind the specs curve was all, with the weapon system given priority. And still he made advances and progress.

So who in town really did feel inferior?

She didn't see her dad that way. Did others?

Every once in a while she'd see ubiquitous markings of 111 that may or may not be a dig at her dad's IQ. But so many had come to visit after this stupid headset nearly fried his brain.

Or was that just concern for the entertainment?

Now she was just being cynical. Sure there might be some entertainment value in the way her dad didn't quite fit in intellectually, even she laughed if it didn't revolve around her. But she knew it wasn't meanly meant, and it wasn't like they tracked him like that substitute for a reality show.

Uuh! She almost wished Beverly Barlowe was still here. The new psychologist stuck strictly to the GD personnel, still trying to unravel the subtle barbs his predecessor had placed and the current stress levels. Beverly would have been open to hearing Zoe's concerns, but whether she would have used the information or actually tried to help Zoe couldn't say.

And then, if the psychologist thought she was right about her dad having an inferiority complex, would bringing it up with her dad reinforce it or help get him out of it?

Dad really was the smartest person she knew in every way that mattered. Even if she hated it.

If only she could get the stupid brainiacs to act accordingly.

* * *

Zoe looked around the Sherriff's Office contemplating the décor. It was early enough that Dad and Jo were over at Café Diem getting their morning coffee and gossip.

She'd contemplated making up a poster of the nifty little slogan she'd come up with. But she knew her Dad had slowly been installing several over the years. The twin to the Murphy's Law poster which was the only decoration her dad had put up in S.A.R.A.H. The really useful Head's Up poster of local projects. A few others.

But they all had to be replaced at some time or other. While there was hardly ever any research or experimenting going on in the office, damage still found the place.

Which was why Zoe had made her little personal campaign sign into a pennant flag made from one of the highly indestructible materials that had been developed.

Over by the window might be best. It would flutter a bit when there was a breeze and catch people's attention.

"This is a surprise."

Zoe jumped, turned and tried to hide the flag behind her. Of course she did not even wait for her father to make that 'I'm waiting' quirk of his brow before pulling the pennant back out. It was just a reflex, but she had wanted this to be a little bit more of a surprise.

"Hey Dad. I, um made you something." She offered it to him, and he took the rolled material a little cautiously, but didn't unroll it right away. "So I was thinking you could put it over here. Where it could catch the breeze a bit."

"What happened?"

"Happened? Nothing's happened. I just wanted to do something before I, you know, go …"

"Huh," his disbelief was clear, but he wasn't jumping to any conclusions just yet. "You're sure everything's okay? That your fine?"

Zoe watched as he slowly unraveled the bright material. Thanks to Pilar the colors would cycle between some of her dad's favorite sports teams, but he only paused a moment to notice the controls built into the seam. She bit her lip at the puzzled look at his brow as he read the saying, her own paraphrase, over twice. And she relaxed as he smiled and ran his hand over the point of the flag where she'd branded it in small font 'A K.I.S.S Production'.

"Well, there was one other thing." Zoe started, grabbing Dad's full attention. She went on to explain how she found the headset under her bed, and pointed out where it was on his desk in a plain box.

He nodded and said he'd take care of it.

But he held up the flag, glancing around the office. "But your right, I think by the window would be perfect."

And he smiled, and gave hugged her shoulder as they looked at their slightly lopsided hanging job and knew he was proud of her.

Dad got it. She knew he would. He was one of the smartest people she knew.

Like her sign said-

Stupidity is in the Mind of the Beholder.


End file.
